Deborah B. Caplan is senior counsel with Olson Remcho. She was previously a partner at Olson, Hagel & Fishburn LLP until December 31, 2016, when she became senior counsel with the firm.
Ms. Caplan was admitted to the District of Columbia Bar in 1979. She later relocated to California and was admitted to the California Bar in 1998. She is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University (B.A., 1975) and Georgetown University Law Center (J.D., 1979).
Ms. Caplan was a Professor of Clinical Law at George Washington University Law School, specializing in administrative law and general civil practice until 1992. She subsequently clerked for the Honorable David Russell, United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District, and joined Olson Hagel & Fishburn in 1998.
Ms. Caplan has served on the Board of Directors of Legal Services of Northern California and the Sacramento Voluntary Legal Services Program. She has also served as an adjunct professor of law at the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, and has been a member of the California Political Attorneys Association since 1998.
Ms. Caplan’s practice focuses on litigation matters, although she also plays a role in political advising, particularly in the area of conflicts of interest. She has extensive experience representing clients in ballot litigation and pre-election review of initiatives and referenda and has been successful both in removing several proposed measures from the ballot and in defending proposed measures against legal challenges. She has been involved in litigation on state mandates and other state regulatory matters, campaign finance, public pensions, and a number of education-related issues, including education finance and challenges to State Board of Education action. S he has represented clients before the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals (District of Columbia), U.S. District Court (District of Columbia, Eastern District of California), the California Supreme Court, and all California Courts of Appeal.